Monday, July 7, 2014

Mardaani @ NZM rly stn

Around a week before, i.e., Sunday 29th June, I was at Nizamuddin railway station (Delhi) at 6:15 a.m. as Rajdhani Express had dropped me there after 1.5 days of journey. From there I had to travel to Ballabgarh (Faridabad) via local EMU train with just Rs.10 fare with virtually no TTE/TC checking enroute or at the destination. But never travelling without ticket, I approached the ticket counter at the first floor of Station on the side of Sarai Kale Khan and was shocked and numbed seeing the scene there. Shocked because the queues were so long at each of the counters and numbed because my left hand was (and still is) under plaster due to an adventure bicycling crash.

Reluctantly I stepped forward and joined the last queue behind almost 50 people when I saw that that counter was meant solely for ladies, senior citizens, and handicapped people. Just after a few minutes a hoard of ladies, which was entertaining itself at the adjacent ticket counter till now, on suggestion of ticket seller jumped towards mine and instead of forming any line everyone started struggling to get tickets for herself resulting in a big chaos which a policemen brought under some control thus enabling even male passengers already in the queue to buy tickets with slightly difficulty.

In that untamed and roaring bunch of females, there I saw a lady around my age who was constantly nudging the chaos controlling policeman reminding him that the counter is a ladies special one and he should ask men to go to the other counters instead of forcing women to either form a line or not get a ticket strictly. After 3 quarters of an hour when I came somewhat nearer to the ticket window (and was certain that I have missed two of my locals by then), she even shouted at a bunch of us and then suddenly asking me at only a few levels below top of her voice if I was a senior citizen that I am in the queue. I had to show her my left plastered hand and pointed her to the Handicapped word written on the window to ward off the lioness off me.

I write her here as a Mardaani for her fearlessness and sheer courage to do what's right and even fighting people and the policeman to remind him to do his duty properly, all that while making a proper queue of ladies side by side. I was amazed then and there and thought of giving few words of commendation as soon as we get free of the queue but couldn't find her after coming out onto the flyover over the platforms. Nonetheless, I salute her as a Mardaani today by writing this post in memory of her courageous act.


P.S. -- This is written as a part of I am Mardaani activity exclusively at BlogAdda.com for Indian Bloggers.

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